Grey Area by Samantha

Grey Area by Samantha - October 2025 Scholarship Essay

"Just because someone hurts you doesn't mean you can simply stop loving them." This quote from It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover seizes one of the saddest truths about love- a feeling that does not just go away when undergoing torment. This book story follows a woman named Lily Bloom, she falls hard with a man named Ryle, only to come to the realization that his anger and actions reflect the same abuse she observed first hand in her parents relationship. Love is not as simple as it looks. Familiarity doesn't just disappear when someone harms us. Lily’s story proves that heartbreak isn’t just about losing someone- it’s about losing the version we once trusted in. Her feelings for Ryle don’t go overnight, even when it becomes harmful. This makes her decision to leave him behind even more significant because she chose self-respect over her own comfort. My perspective on abuse shifted after reading this book. My first thought knowing someone is abused isn’t to ask why the woman still loves the man, but rather more distaste for the abuser than those who love them. Lily taught me that all humans make mistakes, especially when it comes to love. What determines a person's character aren’t the mistakes they make. It’s how they take those mistakes and turn them into lessons.